"It's too bad if a heart lacks fire,
and is deprived of the light
of a heart ablaze.
The day on which you are
without passionate love
is the most wasted day of your life."
― Omar Khayyám

Sasuke knew he was a smart child. A prodigy. A genius. The last Uchiha. It was no wonder that he became rookie of the year. In fact, it was his duty to uphold the Uchiha name.

So why, then, was this no-name, genin woman (hag, more like, she was way too old to start a ninja career in his own personal opinion) stronger than him? She was gaining even more advantage as time wore on during their spar.

It was her who decided to start with taijutsu after parting with their sensei and he should have guessed that she would start off with her most skilled area against him. Hmmph, if she wants to play to one's strengths and weaknesses then he should activate his most notable ability.

After dodging a kick aimed for his head, the Uchiha child triggers his Sharingan. Immediately, his senses are sharper, finer and most importantly, he can react to his opponent's strikes much quicker. Almost as if he could predict what she could do next.

The boy manages to dodge another kick to the head but this time, he sees an opening to her right side. The boy seizes his chance but just as his fist reaches toward her lower right torso, she flashes away while knocking his wrist back with a harsh Slap!

That really hurt, echoes through the boy's mind as he searches across their part of the clearing for the other dark haired woman. It was a mere flick of her wrist but it had been loaded with power, not enough to break bone but will definitely lead to swelling. His crimson eyes catch movement to his far left and just then he raises his arms across his face to block a rough right-hook. Unfortunately, there was enough pressure in that punch to fling the boy back a few meters to a tree behind him. His back bounces off the bark of the tree but he quickly recovers by staggering into a defensive crouch.

That's right, Sasuke should have his Sharingan activated by now, I thought as I observed the boy's eyes flood with red. I didn't really know exactly when he got his Sharingan but I assume that it was during their mission in Wave. Despite that mission originally being a C-rank, it had been promoted to an A-rank causing it to be the talk of the rumor mill that ran through the shinobi ranks. Even I was surprised when I had heard that Team 7 had went against Zabuza Momochi, The Demon of the Bloody Mist.

After trading a few blows with the boy, who was pitifully overwhelmed by my barrage of attacks despite me going easy on him, I gave him time to recover from a hit that pushed him into a tree. Admittedly though I had to say that he was doing fairly well considering he was still only a genin and, unbeknownst to him, sparring with a jounin. In combination with his Sharingan, it lets him block easier and see through any upcoming attacks. However, there was one big loophole one can exploit when dealing with a Sharingan user. One that I discovered and tested out with that most recent punch.

"The Sharingan is useless if you cannot act fast enough to evade or counter your opponent's attack. The best thing left for you to do is just block." I called out from the branch I was crouching on, on the other side of the clearing. After Sasuke had activated his Sharingan I could tell he knew what I was going to hit him with next, he just wasn't quick enough to do anything about it besides brace for the impact.

"Judging from that look on your face, you know I'm right." I spoke again as I jump down from the tree to stare at him. My own face was deadpanned, a result of being a kunoichi I guess. The boy across from me however, just snarled and came rushing towards me with the intent to jab me with his right fist.

Too aggressive. Gets provoked easily. Doesn't recognize when he is outclassed nor when a major weakness of his clan's doujutsu is revealed. I was taking note of all the little things Sasuke would need to work on to get better. I wondered how he managed to become so strong when the boy charging at me seemed relatively harmless. Was his desire for revenge and hatred what had made him become so powerful? In my previous world, I had cowered a little when I had seen the Uchiha's strength. It was a bit hard to believe that this child would grow up to be a monster that once wanted to destroy Konoha. Knowing that Sasuke eventually returns to his senses later on does nothing to soothe the disassociation of what this boy had been.

Maybe I could stop him. He defects from the village soon after the Chuunin Exams. I could stop him from turning against this village and perhaps show him that he won't find what he's looking for outside these walls.

Stupid, a voice in my head chides, You think you can stop him? Please, as if you have anything to offer to him that would make him stay. He betrayed this village, his home, his team. You think a few words and some hugs will stop this boy? Admit it, you can see the darkness in his eyes even now. You know what he is capable of, what he will be capable of.

I will the voice to stop. I've heard enough. It really was stupid of me to think that I could make him stay when his teammates weren't enough to keep him here. And what if I went to someone about it? What would I say, "Sasuke will defect from this village and try to kill us all" or "Please help me stop this boy from leaving, he's hellbent on destruction"? And selfishly I thought about the future consequences of making Sasuke stay: I'd lose my precognition and I wouldn't nearly be as useful, I wouldn't be able to stop the other things I've deemed more urgent. Sasuke and his problems were something that I didn't incorporate much into my own plans.

I tore myself from these thoughts as Sasuke finally nears me with his vicious blows. I easily dodge out of the way, causing him to falter in his steps and almost trip in the space where I had been. His arms were flailing at his sides which give me the perfect opportunity to grab them both and pin them across his back.

"Do you concede?" I asked as I watch the boy huff out an irritated breath.

"Whatever."

I bested him in our taijustu match and now we were facing off against our ninjutsu skills. Knowing that he would be severely limited to any kind of jutsu (did he even know his elemental affinity?) I kept to basic or C-ranked level jutsus. Right now though, I was scouting the boy out, seeing what he would do.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke yells out. He's only about three meters in front of me when a plume of fire bursts through his mouth and at me. I've seen grander versions of this jutsu by other shinobi, other Uchihas, but I can see the kid's potential. Most genin wouldn't be able to pull this jutsu off let alone anything dangerous with their elemental affinity.

I dodge the flames with ease and land behind him. Ram, snake, tiger. I flit through the hand signs quickly and clones start to appear one by one, surrounding Sasuke in a circle.

"Shit." I hear the boy curse beneath his breath.

"Kids these days and their language." Me and all my clones say in unison. Really though, was Kakashi the one teaching his team about swear words?

Sasuke cringes at my voice...voices. I can imagine it was a little irritating and loud since there were eight voices that echoed after each other like some kind of broken karaoke machine. Oh well, it could be worse for him.

I make no move as I see him pull his hands near his chest. I wanted to see how he'd get his way out of this one.

Tiger, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger.

The same signs for his earlier technique register in my mind. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He calls out again. Unlike last time, he turns in a circle, allowing his fire to reach all of my clones. I let my clones disappear as Sasuke burns through them until it reaches to me. Ah, of course he wouldn't be fooled by a simple clone, I think as I move out of the way. The flames just left my skin with a warm sensation as I dodged them. His Sharingan would be able to sense who the real me was since the beginning.

We go back and forth a bit more with him doling out his fireballs and me trying to engage in a spar with my water clones. Eventually I see that he's slowing down with the continuous use of his Sharingan and jutsu so I slow the attacks that my clones were returning at him.

"Had enough? There is no shame in forfeiting. In fact it's wise when a ninja knows their own limits." I try to part some of my knowledge on him but the only response I get is a face full of flames. They're not as hot as the flames from when we first began, he must really be running low on chakra, I think to myself.

"Fine, stay silent. I guess I have no choice...but to do my most ultimate jutsu!" I yell dramatically. I even paused a bit for added emphasis. I put my hands together in front of my chest with a flair and put on my game-face. Sasuke seems to take my words seriously and crouches down defensively, waiting to see what I would try next. I've only shown him my water clones anyways.

A couple of seconds tick by.

The tension hangs in the air like a shroud.

Sasuke swallows nervously.

"Flash Style: A Thousand Setting Suns in A Most Youthful Manner!" The sky above swirled to look like the background behind Gai whenever he pulls of his 'Nice Guy" pose. I finish the jutsu off with my own rendition of his pose, with a thumbs up and a sparkle in my teeth.

Sasuke all but gapes at my near perfect imitation of a certain Green Beast's likeness.

"This-this is just too ridiculous. What kind of jutsu is that anyway? There's no way that kind of thing exists, it's almost like...almost like a genjutsu!" I could literally see the gears turning through that kid's head as he spoke. When he finally realized that he was in a genjutsu all along, he brought his hands up and shouted, "Kai!".

The world around him washed away, eerily similar to the receding shore Sasuke had seen when he was on that mission at Wave. He didn't have much time to linger on those thoughts though when his anger made him bark out, "That whole time! I was under a genjutsu and I didn't even notice! How?!"

"Maybe if you had some manners I'd tell you, Sasuke." The insufferable woman retorts back. The Uchiha boy can't help but want to snarl at her. He'd been wasting his time trapped in some- albeit complex- genjutsu when he could have been training seriously. Sasuke didn't want to be weak. There were too many reasons for him to become strong that silly things like Maito Gai's signature pose angered him to no end.

"Just tell me!" He barks out again.

"...Fine. I'm only going to be nice and tell you this since we are on a team, together. You'd probably assumed I was a taijutsu specialist when I had wanted to spar first but the second I had said that was when I started the first layers of my genjutsu. As we moved on to ninjutsu, more layers were added to the point where I felt comfortable enough to do some drastic things," The woman lets out a short snort at that. The boy frowns even deeper. "I was wondering when you'd notice. I thought your Sharingan would have been able to see through it easier, guess not." She said with a shrug.

Sasuke felt like spitting from the bitterness that climbed up his throat because of the way this woman was talking down to him like this. To his family's Sharingan.

"Spar me for real then. I'll show you just what the Sharingan can do." He all but snarls out.

Yikes, I didn't think I pushed him this far, I thought as I saw the wrinkles and rage fill the child's face. Child. Sasuke is still a boy, I remind myself. He doesn't deserve my scorn for the actions he did not commit. As of this moment, he's just an angry boy left broken and alone due to the crimes of another.

I take a breath before replying to his demand, "No."

"What?! Too afraid, now that I know your tricks?" He sneers.

I wasn't going to fall for his obvious goading, "No, as in I'm not going to spar with you. But," I raise my voice for emphasis. "I do want to help you with your ninjutsu. To be honest, I'm a medic-nin who specializes in genjutsu specifically but I think I can help you."

"Oh yeah? Just what are you gonna teach me, that weird jutsu you showed me earlier?" The boy looks a little skeptical but he's calmed down some. He didn't look like he was frothing at the mouth like some rabid dog at least. Note to self: do not act condescendingly towards an Uchiha's Sharingan.

"I was planning on showing you something that would improve your fire techniques since my own elemental affinity is towards fire."

Across the clearing, a silver haired jounin watches lazily as his newest recruit and the Uchiha train together. So far, he'd been impressed with her use of genjutsu. It looked quite odd seeing how Sasuke was standing there in a daze as Hinowa was doing some pushups and crunches. He had lifted his hitae-ate to confirm that the boy had indeed been put under a genjutsu, not a fairly strong one but complex enough to not be detected by a rookie Sharingan user like Sasuke. When the boy had broken out of it, they exchanged a few words before coming to some sort of agreement.

"Hey Kaka-sensei! You're supposed to be training us, remember!" Naruto shouts from behind him. His fist was up while he was rolling up his sleeve as if he was readying a punch.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei! Stop making eyes at Hinowa-san since she's forced to be in a team with you! Myeeeh!" Sakura chimes in with a head-vein popping out from her forehead. She finished her sentence while sticking out her tongue at him.

With a sigh, the jounin turns back to the pink-lemonade duo currently berating him, "Maa, maa, I'm coming."

I reached my hand over to scratch an itch by the side of my nose. Was someone talking about me? Anyways, I've finally gotten Sasuke calm enough to be watching me intently with only slight irritation. It basically counted as a smile when it comes to him.

With no further adieu, I nip my thumb and slam it towards the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A porcelain white dragon with a mane the color of jade comes rushing out of the summoning cloud. In a quick motion, the dragon swirls around both me and Sasuke before curling up around me affectionately with its head landing below my outstretched hand.

I pet the dragon's head as I greeted him, "Hello, Haku," I notice Sasuke still a bit as I spoke. "I called for Mushu but was he busy?"

"Greetings, Hinowa-hime, and yes, Mushu-sama is attending to some business at the moment." The dragon held the voice of an adolescent boy, around the same age as Sasuke, since Haku was really one of the youngest dragons around.

I have been told about the situation we are in. I hope you are doing well, Haku projects his thoughts out to me. I continue on petting him in silence as I see shock and awe in Sasuke's face after getting over whatever initial feelings he had from seeing the dragon.

I've been trying my best, a.k.a. 'not having a mental breakdown except for that one time with Ryuujin-sama but you won't know about that ever', Thank you for your concern, Haku.

"I guess you'll do just fine then," I turn to the boy in front of me. "Sasuke, this is Haku, one of my dragon summons. He, among most of my other summons, are masters of various fire techniques."

Haku regards the boy with sea green orbs, "Hello, my name is Haku. I don't exactly specialize in fire techniques but I will gladly demonstrate what I am capable of at Hinowa-hime's request."

"...I'm Uchiha Sasuke." The boy replies with a bit of hesitance. Haku blinks up at Sasuke with recognition flitting through his eyes.

So it really is true then, this world does not know of us, Haku asks with a tinge of sadness. I pet him even more to comfort the young dragon. Uchiha Sasuke looks much different than what I remember, besides being younger he looks...pudgy and easy to break.

I almost let out a laugh at Haku's blunt observation of Sasuke. Both youngsters give me a questioning glance. Great, I must've made a weird face from trying not to laugh.

"Woah is that a dragon?!" Comes from a voice that is rapidly approaching us. Just as an orange blur reaches us, Kakashi appears in front of Naruto to hold him back with a palm against the blur's forehead.

"Naruto, Sakura, this is one of Hinowa-san's special attributes: she has a summoning contract with dragons. Meaning that she can bring out dragons to aide her whenever she wants."

"Actually, if the dragons deem my request for them unnecessary or not worth their time, they're free to do as they please." I correct Kakashi. I remembered the first time that I explained to him that the dragons didn't follow me like some kind of pack leader the way his summons do to him. I recalled how I told Kakashi that I summoned Mushu once to burn some paperwork I didn't want to fill out but had been scolded by the red dragon since it was 'important stuff ya can't lose'. Back then and even now the jounin gave me a flat, one-eyed stare.

"They're still better than your doggies, though, Kakashi-sensei. Dragons are way cooler than dog summons!" Sakura had made her way over here as me and Kakashi were speaking apparently and was now standing by Sasuke's side. Kakashi all but stops himself from saying that his ninken were trained hunters and not 'doggies'.

"Can I pet them?" Naruto asks excitedly while Kakashi's hand still rests on his head.

I glance to the side a bit in thought before saying, "Ehm, I was planning on helping Sasuke with his fire techniques but I guess you guys are free to watch or participate if you want."

Naruto, seeing as it wasn't a direct 'no', outstretches his hand and lands it on top of Haku's muzzle. I'm just glad that Haku was calm enough to only twitch at the blonde's sudden movement.

"Greetings, Team 7, I am Haku."

Que respective faces of shock, discomfort, and a blank stare from the pink-lemonade duo, Sasuke, and Kakashi.

"Most summons can speak, just so you know." I say with my own deadpanned face. These kids were young, I get that, but I thought they'd at least know enough about summons. Or perhaps they were just shocked to see a dragon speaking or that said dragon had a kid's voice like them.

Wait. Hold on.

Didn't their mission in Wave involve the death of Zabuza as well as his partner? What was his name again?

Haku.

Yes, Hinowa-hime?, Haku relays back.

No, sorry, I meant the boy that died during their encounter with Zabuza. You both share the same name and I think it's bringing back unpleasant memories for the team, I could hear the faint whine coming from the dragon. I patted his mane down to comfort him a bit more. It wasn't his fault he shared the name of a child that supposedly taken a killing blow for the Demon of the Bloody Mist.

"Alright, I'd like to begin so if all of you could stand back a little." I urged them quickly to get rid of the awkward and heavy atmosphere. I caught an appreciative glance from Kakashi as he led the kids away. Shinobi Rule #13: Diffuse the situation before it gets out of hand (or too troublesome).

Haku lifted himself from the ground to start circling the center of the clearing. His sleek body curled and twisted in the air, almost snake-like. I stood in the center of his circling and faced Team 7.

"It is said in legend that dragons were the original masters of fire. They were the ones to impart the knowledge to wield the flames to the humans. Everything we know about Katon jutsu is thanks to their teaching."

Haku opens his maw as some of his scales peel off from his body making them glint off the sunlight like snowflakes. His emerald green tail slips through the scales as he passes.

"Do you know what the first thing was that the dragons taught us about fire?"

Just then, flames erupt from Haku's mouth, spilling out to encompass me in a kind of cyclone of fire. The scales that had previously floated so ephemerally catch on fire and turn into embers that hover just outside the cyclone.

Sakura gasps at the sudden heat that rushes over her. She immediately raises her hand to shield her face from the heat and flames and though she is afraid of it- the fire, the dragon- and is afraid for the dark haired woman trapped inside that inferno, she cannot look away. There was a sort of beauty from the dancing red and orange hues in front of her. She briefly wonders if this is what it feels like to wield fire. She wouldn't know since she can barely pull of any kind of jutsu let alone elemental ones. Inside her heart however, a small spark of desire to become stronger and harness this beauty is born.

Almost as quickly as it had come, the cyclone dies off and tapers into a few flashes of smoldering crimson. The dark haired woman with the golden eyes and steady voice stands exactly where she had been on. She is pristine and untouched, like the fire did not harm her anymore than the passing wind.

"They taught us that fire does not necessarily mean destruction." I answered my own rhetorical question after my short demonstration. Making sure Sasuke, as well as the others, knew that fire wasn't solely used to hurt others was today's first lesson.

"Sasuke," The boy snaps out of his reverie to look up at me. His demeanor is quieted and mild. Perfect. "Come here. You must step into the flames yourself to understand the meaning behind my words." I reach out a hand towards him, palms up and elbow slightly bent. Above me, Haku continues his circling but I can feel a soft hum resonate in my mind from him.

Sasuke blinks up at me like he doesn't fully realize I'm there talking to him. I give him a moment to collect himself, the heat and sheer power that emanated from a dragon's flames had a sort of quieting effect on many people. I glance towards Kakashi and note that even he had a genuine look of surprise punctuated by the slight parting of his mouth through his mask. His eyes betray nothing and it is that which you can confirm that Kakashi is truly feeling something. His eyes were just as much a mask as the cloth around his lips were.

"Come here, Sasuke." I encourage him further. Finally, the boy takes a few, slow steps towards me, takes my hand and joins me in the middle of the dragon-circle.

Haku opens his mouth and the fire comes out once more, engulfing us completely. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi wash away in a wave of burning heat and light. From my side, I hear Sasuke gasp as he takes in the view from inside the cyclone. In here, the true lesson of the dragons are taught. In front of us, the flames blended in a mural of greens, blues, purples, oranges, and reds. The sight was utterly breathtaking. I had seen these flames all my life and still I am caught by the glory of it all.

Sasuke finally speaks up, "I understand now."

I still recommend checking out my Ao3 NobodyWillLoveYouLikeIDo (or by simply searching up the story name, same as it is here) because there is additional content such as gifs and pictures that go along with the story! Also, all my stories are updated quicker there!